African Americans | Page 14

Grey, Emily O. Goodridge (1834–1916)

Emily Grey was one of the first African Americans to settle in Old St. Anthony, where she owned and successfully operated her own business as a seamstress. She was active in religious and civic affairs and popular among Black and white residents alike. Best known for initiating the effort to free an enslaved woman named Eliza Winston in 1860, she weathered mob violence for her efforts. She rebuilt her home and business after the incident and lived in Minneapolis for the remainder of her life.

Congregation of Brown’s Chapel, Hastings

The congregation of Brown’s Chapel, Hastings, gathered in front of their church. Photograph by Howard Crosby ca. 1900. The photo was originally published in the Hastings Gazette on September 2, 1949. Pictured are the congregation's minister (in the top hat), brass band musician John Goodman (front row, right), Mrs. Weldon, Mrs. Curry, and Mr. Wallace (at left in the second row). Bill Douglas stands on the platform in the rear.

Burning of Brown’s Chapel AME, Hastings

Sometime past midnight on Friday, November 1, 1907, “the ringing of a fire bell rang out,” as reported in the Hastings Democrat. Brown’s Chapel African Methodist Episcopal (AME) was engulfed in flames. The little white frame church that had stood on the corner of Fifth and Sibley Streets had been established by the Black residents of Hasting’s community. Two weeks prior, they had celebrated the fifteenth anniversary of “having a place of their own."